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Lady Dragon basketball faced a disappointing 47-45 overtime loss to Akron Tuesday night, Dec. 16. “This was a tough loss for our team,” said coach Arlan Scholl. “The girls played hard and just couldn’t get the win.” The girls will be off for several weeks for the holiday break with action to resume Jan. 9.Holyoke 45, Akron 47 Tuesday night’s game was a close match-up. While the score was tied at 10-all after one quarter of play, the Rams came on strong in the second to take a 22-14 halftime advantage. The Lady Dragons only picked up four points in the second period, and Akron managed 12. Four Lady Rams made trips to the charity stripe in that quarter, where they scored on six of the 11 attempts. With three more two-point baskets, they jumped ahead of the Dragons by eight points. Holyoke battled back in the second half, outscoring the visitors 23-19 to knot the score at 37-37 at the end of regulation play. The Lady Dragons were on fire as the overtime period started. Akron got the tip, but Marissa Smith made a quick steal to move in to score on a lay-up. Akron turned the ball over on their end of the court, and Maddie Starkebaum took it in to score for a four-point Dragon lead. The Rams hit two, followed by a two-pointer from Phawn Carper halfway through the three-minute overtime. Akron came within one on a three-point basket, Smith added two for Holyoke, then the Rams sank another three-pointer to suddenly make it a 45-45 tie ball game. Approximately 70 seconds remained. With 40 seconds on the clock, the Rams took the lead for the first time in the overtime. Their 47-45 advantage ended up as the final score for a tremendously disappointing loss for the Lady Dragons. Leading the Dragon scoring was Starkebaum with 14 points on six two-pointers and two free throws. Also scoring in double digits was Katie Hoffner with 11, and Carper added nine. Hoffner made five of her six free-throw attempts, while Carper sank three of four. Holyoke outrebounded Akron 35-29, led by Nora Roth with eight, Starkebaum seven and Carper six. Starkebaum also had four steals in the game. The local girls had an overall better field goal percentage, making 17-51 for 33 percent, compared to Akron’s 15-52 for 29 percent. However, the Rams were 40 percent from three-point range, sinking six from behind the arc. Both teams made 11 free throws. Holyoke was 11-21 for 52 percent, and Akron was 11-18 for 61 percent. “We came out and dominated in overtime, but our poor free-thow shooting thoughout the game was a big factor in not bringing home the victory,” said coach Scholl after the game. The game could have gone either way as it was a tough fight on Holyoke’s part. Coach Scholl noted, “We are continuing to work hard as coaches and players to improve in our weak areas and get back in the winning column.” StatisticsHolyoke 45, Akron 47 2 3 FT F TP FGSmith 2 0 1-4 3 5Hoffner 3 0 5-6 4 11Starkebaum 6 0 2-6 4 14Carper 3 0 3-4 3 9Roth 3 0 0-1 3 6 TEAM 17 0 11-21 17 45AkronTEAM 9 6 11-18 18 47Scoring By QuartersHolyoke 10 4 10 13 8 --45Akron 10 12 6 9 10 --47